Jennifer Lawrence will receive San Sebastian’s honorary Donostia Award this evening before screening her latest feature Die, My Love, and she shared an anecdote about how she ended up starring in and producing the film this afternoon during a festival presser.
Directed by Lynne Ramsay, the film is based on a novel by Argentine writer Ariana Harwicz. Lawrence told journalists in San Sebastian that legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese first handed her Harwicz’s book and pushed her to star and produce an adaption.
“He had read this book in his book club and said this was a role you should play,” Lawrence said of Scorsese.
The press conference this afternoon was politically fraught with several journalists asking Lawrence about U.S. politics and the violence in Gaza. The festival moderator initially attempted to shut down all questions about politics, but the journalists inside the room were resolute.
When asked about Gaza, Lawrence replied: “I’m terrified. It’s mortifying. What’s happening is no less than a genocide and it’s terrible. What makes me so sad is the disrespect in the discourse of American politics right now and how that is going to be normalized to the kids right now. It’s going to be normal to them that politicians lie.”
Lawrence continued to urge people in the room to “stay focused on who is responsible” rather than directing their ire at artists and actors.
She concluded: “When you ignore whats happening on one side of the world, it will also soon be on your side, too.”
Elsewhere during the session, Lawrence was quizzed about her assessment of U.S. politics and attacks against freedom of speech in the country. He response was resolute.
“Our freedom of speech and expression is under attack and I think the world of cinema and using your voice in artistic ways, having festivals like this where we can learn from each other and realize we are all connected and matter and deserve empathy and freedom are important,” she said
Die, My Love follows a mother named Grace (played by Jennifer Lawrence) in rural America, battling psychosis as it takes a toll on her and her husband (played by Robert Pattinson). Sissy Spacek, Nick Nolte, and LaKeith Stanfield also star.
Lawrence told the audience in San Sebastian that she went through “really hard postpartum” after her second child, which influenced her approach to the material. She also described her collaboration with Ramsay as instinctual, rather than technical.
“I’ve been a huge fan of her for so long,” said of Ramsay. “It was a lot of discussion about the head space. Neither of us are very technical people or artists. It was very conversational and emotionally led.”
Out of Cannes, Deadline’s Damon Wise called the film a “brutal but beautiful story of a married woman’s mental disintegration.” He also posited that Lawrence’s performance, which may be a career best, could land her a fifth Oscar nomination.
Mubi snapped Die My Love up for $24 million out of this year’s Cannes Film Festival. It’s getting a domestic release on November 7, 2025. The film’s screenplay was written by Enda Walsh, Lynne Ramsay, and Alice Birch based on Harwicz’s book. Producers are Andrea Calderwood, Justine Ciarrocchi, Jennifer Lawrence, Thad Luckinbill, Trent Luckinbill, Martin Scorsese, and Molly Smith.
San Sebastian runs until Sept 7.